Program Mission

The Doctor of Philosophy in Couple and Family Therapy (CFT) prepares professionals for CFT leadership roles in academic and research settings. Using a social justice and a relational/systemic perspective, the program prepares CFTs to become ethically and multicultural responsive scholars, clinicians, supervisors, and educators.

Program Goals

Research Competency: The program will equip students to generate and disseminate social justice and relational/systemic informed research using innovative research methods.

Educator Competency: The program prepares effective Couple and Family Therapy educators.

Theoretical and Clinical Competency: The program equips students with advanced couple and family therapy theoretical training for use in clinical and supervisory settings.

Ethical Competency: The program promotes ethical practices of students in their scholarship, clinical, and educational endeavors.

Multicultural Competency: The program engenders multicultural responsiveness of students in their scholarship, clinical, and educational endeavors.

Student Learning Outcomes

Research Competency

1.1 Students will demonstrate their ability to critique the CFT literature and propose social justice and relational/systemic informed research project. 75% of students will receive an average of 80% or higher on their final research project in Research Methods in Couple and Family Therapy.

1.2 Students will demonstrate their ability to disseminate their contribution to the couple and family therapy field by publishing 2 papers and presenting research at conferences. 75% of students will successfully defend the research portion of the comprehensive exams by scoring a 2 or higher on research portion of their comprehensive exam rubric.

1.3 Students will demonstrate their ability to contribute to the couple and family therapy field using innovative research methods in their dissertation. 75% of eligible students will successfully pass their dissertation defense as measured by 2 or higher on the overall dissertation rubric.

Educator Competency

2.1 Students will demonstrate effective instruction. 75% of eligible students will receive an average score of 4 or better on the ACES teaching evaluation form (or equivalent) prior to taking their comprehensive exam.

2.2 Students will demonstrate their philosophical conceptualization of teaching and ways in which they create an inclusive learning environment for all students. 75% of eligible students will write and successfully defend a teaching philosophy statement that will receive an average of 2 or more on the teaching portion of their comprehensive exam rubric.

Theoretical and Clinical Competency

3.1 Students demonstrate clinical competency by their advanced understanding and application of relational/systemic theories to their work with individuals, couples, families, and supervisees. Students will develop an advanced knowledge of psychotherapy/CFT theories by completing the required CFT specific course work. 75% of students will score 3 or better on clinical competency section of the annual student evaluation.

3.2 Students will demonstrate a solid understanding of couple and family therapy theories and AAMFT Core Competencies. 75% of eligible students will pass the AMFTRB licensure examination.

3.3 Students will demonstrate their advanced couple and family therapy theoretical understanding be integrating theories and creating a theory of change. 75% of eligible students will receive an 80% or higher on their Theory of Change paper in the Advanced Couple and Family Therapy and Psychotherapy course.

3.4 Students will demonstrate their advanced theoretical understanding through supervision of couple and family therapists in training. 75% of eligible students will have completed an AAMFT approved supervisor course and received at least an 80% or better on their philosophy of supervision paper.

Ethical Competency

4.1 Students will demonstrate an advanced knowledge of ethics through activities in the required ethics courses and clinical practice. Students will demonstrate competency by 3 or higher on the ethical portion of their annual student evaluations.

4.2 Students will demonstrate their ethical competency by successfully creating and defending an ethics autobiography paper that describes their personal ethical development and their ethical decision making style. 75% of students will complete the paper and score at least a 2 or better on the ethics portion of their comprehensive exam rubric.

Multicultural Competency

5.1 Students will demonstrate multicultural responsiveness through activities in their multicultural and clinical practice. Students will demonstrate competency by scoring an average of 80% or better in these courses.

5.2 Students will demonstrate their multicultural responsiveness by creating a multicultural statement that describes how students infuses issues of power, privilege, and oppression into their research, teaching, and theoretical/clinical work. 75% of eligible students will successfully defend a multicultural statement during their comprehensive exam as evidenced by a score of 2 or better on the multiculturalism portion of their comprehensive exam rubric.